Brief history of SJCFF

The Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund was established in December 1989 with the objective of promoting permanent peace and mutual understanding between China and Japan. The fund was established as one arm of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation with support from The Nippon Foundation. Inspiration for the fund came from the founder of The Nippon Foundation, the late Ryoichi Sasakawa, who was dedicated to the search for lasting world peace.

The Fund was established directly after the Tiananmen Square incident. Following the incident, several countries in the West imposed economic sanctions on China, and the Japanese government of the time froze its yen loan to China. However, considering the international isolation of China to be undesirable, the Japanese government later revised its stance and took the lead in bringing China back into the international fold. Emerging in this turbulent period of history, the Sasakawa Japan-China Peace Fund received an overwhelming welcome in China as one of the overseas efforts to lend support to the country.

Upon its establishment, the fund immediately began personnel exchanges with China through its Chinese partner, the 'China Association for International Friendly Contact'. Through these two organizations, noted individuals in various circles and media representatives from China were invited to Japan, and Japanese students and teachers of the Japanese language were invited to China. In addition, the fund conducted various projects to provide management know-how to China as a means to galvanize the country's economic system.

In 1992, the emperor and empress of Japan visited China. It was an event that heralded a new era in China-Japan relations. In the following year, 1993, the fund received a 5 billion yen endowment, doubling its original value to 10 billion yen. By virtue of this increase, the fund became the largest fund in the private sector linking China and Japan.

In the latter half of the 1990s, the fund carried out a wealth of projects with the dual aims of developing the leaders of the upcoming 21st Century and creating a new cooperative relationship between China and Japan. To this end, the fund supported projects in areas such as capacity building, training visits, surveys & research, and various conferences.

From the early 21st century, while continuing to support the development of Chinese society, the fund adopted two novel challenges: to promote personnel exchanges between China and Japan in the security field and ease tensions over issues surrounding historical awareness.

Through activities such as these, the fund has worked since its establishment to improve relations between China and Japan. In ever changing times and shifting environments, the fund has remained clear about the problems the two countries face, and has strived to find solutions.

"People are the pivotal factor in maintaining and promoting bilateral cooperation."

On the basis of this philosophy, the fund not only promotes capacity building and mutual understanding, but also works to make social proposals and keep the world informed about China-Japan relations.

As of 2007, the fund had provided 2.4 billion yen in aid through 270 projects. Up to that point, 5,677 Japanese citizens and 17,270 Chinese citizens had participated in the fund's projects, in fields spanning personnel invitation & dispatch, capacity building, and hosting of seminars and symposiums.

Promoting understanding, fostering human resources, and furthering cooperation to build the future. Bearing these goals firmly in mind, the fund will continue to conduct forward-thinking and innovative projects for friendly relations and exchange between China and Japan.